Fish Out of Water
by NovaSpritWolf
Summary: Minnow has lived her whole life on an island, but one day everything changes. Keiko wasn't looking for anything when she flew out into the sea alone- she was just trying to get away from the parents who worship her brother and loathe her. Abused, alone, and neglected, the two find a way together and instantly click. This is the story of their lives. (Colab with Fantasy0930)
1. Chapter One

**A/N: Hi guys! Just wanted to tell you, this is rated T for a reason. It does contain abuse. If you are sensitive to that topic, PLEASE DON'T READ THIS. Otherwise, enjoy!**

 **-NovaSpiritWolf and fantasytwin0930**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 1_**

 **~Keiko~**

I awake in my bed and yawn. As I stretch my wings and legs next to my bed, I glance out the window.

The sun is just beginning to rise over the hills of the island me and my family live on. Some dragons would call my parents reclusive yet friendly. I call them reclusive and grumpy.

I know, I know, you're supposed to respect your parents, but they don't really give me much reason to respect. Well, respect isn't really the right word. I do respect them. A lot.

Even thinking my mom and dad makes me swim with guilt. The slap from Starfish, my mother, and the cut from Wave, my father, hurt like fire from yesterday. It's not out of the ordinary, getting hurt like that from them. In fact, I'm used to it.

The thing that makes me feel is guilty is that my brother, Storm, is coming home from school today, and I promised him that I would stand up to Mom and Dad. But I haven't, because obviously, that would just give me a bigger beating.

I walk out of my bedroom and quickly into the bathroom. Maybe I can hide the bruises and the cut… I grab some random things from the shelves and put some on the gash on my arm. It's worse then I thought it would be, very red and there's a lot of swelling.

When I put the medicine on, that swelling goes down and I smile. Maybe it will be gone before Storm gets here!

Storm is one of the sweetest dragons I have ever met. He always looked out for me before he applied for Jade Mountain Academy. He was the best big brother anyone could have.

My parents loved like him like crazy. He won awards, he was athletic, and basically perfect. Unlike me. And, of course, I can never forget it.

"What are you doing?" I turn to the harsh voice of my mother. "Why are you still in my house?"

I opened my mouth them close it and then finally mumble, "Sorry,"

"Out. Now." Starfish almost screams at me. "And don't give me any excuses."

I nod, then walk past her quickly. I have no doubts that if I had stayed there a minute more, I would have had an extra cut to cover up.

I dart down the stairs and grab a piece of bread and a coconut. I might get in trouble for it later, but chances are Wave will be too drunk and Starfish too busy to notice.

Right when I exit the house, the cool air hits me. The birds are chirping, and the the dew sparkles on the grass. I walk to a large rock quite far away from my house and nibble on the bread.

I stare out at the sun rising, wondering when Storm will get here. I've missed him so much while he was away. My family doesn't live near anyone, the closest dragons are more then a days flight away, so I don't really know anyone.

Or, at least, until I went to a SeaWing school. But it wasn't so great there, either. If life wasn't hard enough already for me, a group of bullies decided that I would be their next victim. A lot of the dragons at my school avoid me now, worried that if they hang out with me, the bullies would hurt them.

I just need to get away from it all. I put the nibbled bread and untouched coconut in a leather bag I always carry around with me, and then leap into the sky.

I know Storm will be here any minute now, but I don't care. I'll probably only get to talk to him when my parents stop gushing over him, and saying how much they missed him. That could take HOURS.

I'm now flying over a lot of other islands, some of them barren, others full of life.

After about half an hour of flying, another island comes into view. I wouldn't have paid any attention to it, except for one little thing. There was smoke rising up from the treeline.

I could tell by the way the smoke was rising that it was dragon-made. It was too big for a scavenger, but too small and controlled for a wildfire.

I quickly fly down and land on the grassy area, my talons digging into the wet soil. I don't know who could be responsible for making that fire, not a lot of dragons live on islands like I do.

I walk through the brush, brushing ferns and branches out of the way.

I then enter a small clearing. I glance around. It's a pretty average clearing, except for one thing.

In the center of the clearing, there is a SeaWing dragonet. And she's staring right at me.

 **~Minnow~**

It's an ordinary day. I wake up early in the morning, when the moons haven't yet faded from the sky. That's the best time of day to fish. The little silver creatures are practically leaping out of the water.

I sit by the seashore, watching the waves crash against each other, I realize that the sun is rising. Y _ou have to go back to your safe place before the sun is up or they'll find you,_ my mother's voice rings in my head.

I look back at the ferns enclosing my safe place, way back from the seashore. _But I don't want to go back to the seashore,_ a rebellious part of my brain says. _Why do I have to listen to Mother? She left me here. She has no control over me anymore._

I rub my wrists, remembering the feel of Mother's firm grip, pulling me back to my safe place. "I don't want to go back," I remember crying. "I want to stay and watch the sunrise."

"You may not stay," my mother said, her voice dripping with malice. "Do you want a lashing?"

Mother never once hit me, but the threat of the whip she placed by her hammock each night was enough to get me to do her bidding. The whip was made of reeds, with sharp rocks embedded in it like spikes. No matter how much I wanted to stay by the seashore, I always followed after her.

 _But she's not here anymore,_ my mind whispers. _She can't hurt me now._

So I stay and watched the sunrise. Colorful bursts of pale orange and pink explode across the sky. It's beautiful to watch. Still, my talons tremble. Mother would be so disappointed.

I look up. It's been dangerous enough to stay out for the sunrise. I have to go back to my safe place.

I push aside ferns and walk towards my fireplace. Since I can't breathe fire myself, I've learned how to start one myself. I rub two stones together. At first I only get a few glowing orange sparks, but in a few minutes, I have a fire.

I grab a stick and skewer a speckled green fish. I hold it over a fire as it slowly roasts. My mother never let me cook my fish. She made me eat them raw. "That's what normal SeaWings do," she said in her cutting voice.

"But what if I don't want to be normal?" I asked.

"Don't say that," Mother snarled. "You should always want to be normal."

"If you wanted me to be normal, why'd you bring me here?" I shot back.

But now there was nobody to stop me from roasting my fish. Sometimes I felt guilty for disobeying her orders- my mother had meant well, hiding me, I thought sometimes. Other times, I wished she had never trapped me here.

Wait. Was that the rustle of talonsteps?

All of the sudden, a bright sapphire dragonet is standing in front of me.

My first response is to scream. "HHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLP!" I stop when I realize there's nobody to come help me. I cower.

"Who- who are you?" The dragonet is about my age, with bright blue scales and sky blue underscales. She sounds as scared as I am. "Why are you here? This is- this is miles away from the Kingdom of Sea."

I ignore her. "If you're here to take me away, you can't have me."

"I don't want to take you away," she says confusedly. "I didn't even know you were here." That's followed by a lot of muttering that I can barely make out. She says the word "storm" several times. I'm confused. It's not going to storm. There isn't a cloud in the sky.

"Who are you?" she asks, looking up.

I blink. "I'm nobody. Just forget you saw me, okay?"

"Well, I'm a nobody too," she says with a sigh. "So we have that in common." She squints at me. "You can tell me who you are. It's not like I'm going to tell anyone, and even if I did, there's no way they'd believe a scrawny nobody dragonet like me."

"How old are you?"

"Four."

"We have that in common too," I say. "I'm Minnow." I figure it can't hurt to tell her my name. It's not going to let her know anything new. Even without my name, she could still give away my hiding spot.

She tilts her head. "I'm Keiko."

"Keiko." The word sounds strange on my tongue. "Why are you here?"

She tilts her head again. I'm starting to wonder if that's a thing she does a lot. "My mom kicked me out of the house," she replies. Her voice is casual, but she doesn't meet my eyes. Instead she's fiddling with a bracelet around her wrist.

"Better you leaving than her," I said.

"By the whales, Minnow," she says. I love the way she says it as if I'd known her for years. "I completely disagree. I'd love for my mom to just disappear."

"No, you don't," I say quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she says, looking regretful. "Did your mom leave you on the island?"

"Yeah," I say, my voice forcefully calm. "It's no big deal."

"My mom would love to dump me on an island," Keiko says, plopping down on the sand beside me. She's not looking at her bracelet anymore. "She hates me."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she says softly. "She only likes my brother. 'Storm didn't misbehave in school!'" She lifts her voice to a cranky snarl. "Storm was so gifted in science! Storm got the best grades! Storm was the best hunter! How in the world can you be related to Storm?'"

I sigh. I always wished for a brother or sister to keep me company, but now... I can see it now. Your brother doesn't linger and try to watch the sunrise! Your brother doesn't want to cook his fish! Your brother is actually good at weaving! "Sounds awful."

"Yeah." She pauses. "Well, my mom is. Storm is great."

I'm confused. So she's happy at her brother... and mad at her mom? I've never been good at this 'feelings' stuff.

"I..." she pauses, "I should probably get going."

I want to call out, "Don't go! Please stay!" but I don't want to seem desperate, so I'm silent. "You will come back, right?" I ask. "You're... you're the first dragon I've seen in a long time."

"Awww." She looks down. "Of course I'll come back. I've never met a dragon like you before."

Like me? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? "What does that mean?"

"Friends?" She holds out a talon.

I smile and shake.


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N: We forgot to put this before, but Keiko's section is written by NovaSpiritWolf, and Minnow's part is by fantasytwin0930.**

 **-fantasytwin0930 and NovaSpiritWolf**

* * *

 **~Keiko~**

I fly off Minnow's island smiling. I can't believe that I finally made a friend! Besides Storm, I don't have anyone to talk too or tell my feelings too. Even though Minnow doesn't seem like a 'feelings' dragon, she's still a friend.

Suddenly, a pang of distress and panic. I was supposed to be home to prepare for Storm visiting! Oh, Mother will surely beat me now.

As I fly home, I think about what kind of punishment she'll give me. Maybe a new cut. Or lock me out of the house for a couple of days. Maybe she will just slap and hit me a lot, at best.

After another fifteen minutes of flying, I am on the front porch of my house, bracing myself for my mom's wrath.

I push open the door and enter the house and look around. It looks the same as when I left, with no deep blue bag with lightning bolts that indicates that Storm is here. The only thing that is different is a certain very angry mother standing there, staring at me.

"Hi, Mom…" I say in a shaky voice.

She slaps me.

"Where in all of Pyrrhia were you? I was out there calling your name to come in, but you were not in sight! What do you expect me to do? Do it myself on top of all the things I also have to do? Answer me!" She shouts at me.

"I-I'm really, really sorry." I say, fiddling with my bracelet, not looking her in the eyes.

"You're a disaster. Go do your chores and then go to your room."

I nod and then hurry off to do the chores.

The next day, I still haven't talked to Storm, and now I have to go to school. _Awesome._ I grumble in my mind. _Just great._

Then my head snaps up. Maybe I can go see Minnow if I leave right now!

I quickly hurry out of the house, seeing Storm's back laid neatly in the corner. I grab a piece of fish to go and jump into the air.

I have about an hour until school, so that mean I can only drop in quick if I want to see her.

I beat my wings fast, trying to gain speed.

Suddenly, I'm thrown out of air. I tumble onto the grass beneath of me, trying to catch my breath.

I look at the object that knocked me down. It's a giant chunk of dirt, small rocks inside of it.

I quickly stand up to face my attackers. Oh no. It's the bullies from school, Depth, Current, and Salmon.

"Oh, guess it wasn't a sickly bird you shot out of the air, Current," Salmon snickers, kicking up some dirt into my eyes. "Really looked like one, though."

I rubbed my eyes, glaring at the trio. "Give me a break, Salmon. We all know your not smart enough to know what something is when your standing five feet away from it."

Salmon glares at me with a look of hatred. "Shut up now, idiot, or you'll be sorry."

I know I should probably stop, but I'm filled with rage and anger that I've kept inside for so long. Anger at my mom. Anger for my dad. Anger for Storm, even, for being so perfect.

"You couldn't do anything to hurt me if I was completely still and right in front of you." I shot back.

Salmon gave a little flick of his tail and immediately Current and Depth surrounded me, cornering me against a tree. Both of them hold one of my wings, and that's when I realize I went too far.

"Wait. I don't want any marks on her body." Salmon said, scanning my body. "Then she could tell on us. Hmmm…"

Then he spots the gash on my shoulder. "Perfect."

"No! Leave me alone!" I shout. "Help!" _Minnow is on this island! Maybe she can hear me!_

"Minnow! Help!"

I just hope she'll find me before Salmon can do too much damage...

 **~Minnow~**

"Help!"

I wasn't expecting Keiko to come back so soon, and I certainly wasn't expecting to hear her voice screaming. But I know instantly that my new friend- my _only_ friend- is in danger, so I rush out of my ferns and try to find the source of her pain.

"Minnow! Help!"

Dragons. Three dragons glare down at me. They're a lot bigger than I am, but the way I have with nature helps me in this situation.

"Get away from her!" I zoom forwards and scoop up seawater, which I splash in the eye of the dragon who's not holding Minnow down. He staggers backwards, holding his eye.

"Let her go!" I snarl at the other two.

They back up nervously.

"Keiko, are you okay?" I ask. Stupid question; of course she's not okay. She looks like she's about to cry.

"By the whales!" exclaims the one I splashed. "Keiko's raising a savage!" He whirls around to the other two. "Current! Depth! We gotta go tell Ms. Tide!"

As they fly away, my decision sinks in. I let other dragons see me. Other dragons who are likely to tell the queen, or somebody else who has the power to take me back. I just gave away my life.

I look down and say hoarsely, "I'm dead."

Keiko looks down. "Don't worry, Minnow," she whispers, drawing a line in the sand with her talon. "Nobody would believe them, even if they did . And I'm pretty sure they were just trying to get away. I think they're scared of you?" It comes out like a question.

I wipe my eyes. "You're right. I think... even if they do tell... it might be good to come to the Kingdom of Sea. My mother said it was a horrid place, but then again, she also said cooked fish was horrid." Mother had a long list of things that were 'horrid': the Kingdom of Sea, the taste of seagulls in her mouth, sand between her talons, seaweed, and me.

 _You tragic dragon._

I shove the thought aside.

"Wait. You like COOKED FISH?" Keiko asks.

I duck my head. I'm going to be an outcast even among my only friend. "Yeah," I say. It comes out a whisper.

"Me too!" Keiko squeals.

"Really?" I can't help the goofy smile that stretches across my face. I look down, and she's fiddling with her bracelet again. "Can I see your bracelet?"

"Sure," says Keiko, unclasping the bracelet. I take it in my talon and gingerly inspect it. The bracelet is made of small translucent green and blue beads, each different sizes. "My brother Storm gave it to me," Keiko says.

"It's gorgeous." I hold out the bracelet. "Here."

Keiko shakes her head. "You keep it."

"No, no, I couldn't!" I cry. I've never been given a gift before.

"Of course you can," she says. "As a token of our friendship." She ducks her head. I grin at her and clasp the bracelet around my wrist.

"Wow," I say softly. "I wish I had something for you."

"That's okay," she says. "You don't need to get me anything."

"Wait!" I suddenly slam my body up against a nearby tree, making Keiko jump. Two coconuts drop down into the sand. I pick them up and hand one to Keiko. "Here."

Keiko smiles. "I hardly ever get coconuts," she says. "They're the highest delicacy in the Kingdom of Sea. My parents only bought them for Storm."

Soon we're both sipping warm, tangy coconut milk. Keiko glances at the sky, looking guilty. "I should probably go," she says, looking down. "I'm going to be late for school."

"School?" I echo. What a funny word.

Keiko's eyes get wide. "Where we go to learn things? Like, reading scrolls. You know what a scroll is, right?"

I nod. "Mother taught me to read." I remember the days of frustration, trying to read while Mother shouted at me. _You're so slow!_ she bellowed. _Read faster! Are you dumb?_

I would try to sound out the words: _sea-sh-ell?_

 _Seashore! Seashore!_ Mother yelled.

 _I'm sorry!_ I wailed. _I'm trying!_

 _You're obviously not trying hard enough!_

I look up, shaking old memories from my head. "Okay, you should go," I say, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice. "Will you come back?"

"As soon as I can," Keiko promises.

I look down at my new bracelet with the smooth green and blue beads, then up at Keiko's glinting scales, which are slowly growing smaller and smaller, until she's a speck in the distance, and then I can't see her at all.


	3. Chapter Three

**~Minnow~**

I always hated the fact that my mother had left me on the island, but watching Keiko's mother yell at her, I feel lucky. Keiko cowers in the corner while her mother (Starfish, I think Keiko said) screams in a high-pitched voice. I'm pressed up against the wall, horrified, unable to do anything.

"You _skip school_ and then _come back here with a random SeaWing I've never seen before in my life!"_ She hollers. Keiko ducks her head. She reaches absentmindedly to her wrist, and her eyes flit over to the glass bracelet she'd given me only a few hours earlier. I want to take it off my wrist and fling it at her. "Do you think, for one second, how _worried_ your brother and I were-"

A moment later, a blue-gray dragon comes into the room. He is tall and has a kind face. He glances over at my mother and Keiko, and then at me. I shrink when his dark blue eyes scrutinize me. And then I realize who he is- Storm, Keiko's older brother. The perfect one.

"What's going on?" he asks.

"Keiko _skipped school,_ " Keiko's mother says angrily. She turns back to Keiko and says, "Did Storm ever skip school? I thought I could trust you, Keiko! Storm never, never did anything like this!"

"Is this true?" Storm says quietly. His eyes are on Keiko, not on Starfish. His voice is quiet, but commands attention. Keiko looks down, her eyes blurred, and nods.

"It's not her fault," I blurt suddenly. Storm turns to look at me, and I want to faint. I feel like I'm two years old again, talking hesitantly to my mother, asking her if I can stay a few more minutes to watch the sunrise.

But this is what friends do. I think. I continue cautiously, my voice growing in strength as I explain, "I've been stuck on this island for so long. There's something wrong with my wing, you see." I spread my wing, showing them the scar I got years ago from bumping into a tree. "I can't fly away, so I've been stuck on the island; I didn't know how to swim. And my island is running out of food. I was starving to death, but Keiko found me a few days ago and brought me food. That's why she took your food- she was saving my life. She's a hero!"

Storm looks back at Keiko, who looks incredulous. She fixes her face and whispers, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. She didn't want me to tell anyone. She was worried dragons would come after her."

And they did," I say quietly. "They followed Keiko this morning and tried to attack me. But she bravely fended them off, and they ran away. She saved me! But she was late to school, and we didn't want to risk it happen again, so she taught me how to swim so I could get away from the island."

"And you expect me to believe that?" Starfish says, her voice dripping. Her cold glare reminds me somehow of my own mother. "What kind of fool do you think I am?"

"We can take you to the island," Keiko ventures. Both Storm and Starfish are looking at her, and she peers around them to glance at me. I motion to my wing- we have to maintain the story.

"We'll have to swim, though, because of Minnow's wing," she adds, and I nod.

Starfish glares at her daughter. "And why should I do that?"

"I think we should," says Storm unexpectedly. "If the story is true, Keiko is a hero, just like that little dragonet said." I bristle; I'm not _that_ small. He continues quietly, "And it shouldn't be hard to prove. If she's been living there, there'll be lots of signs of dragon life."

"Alright," says Starfish, nodding. I can see it now; she's only agreeing with Storm. "That is a good idea."

"Let's get going, then," says Storm, opening the door.

Keiko brushes past me, whispering into my ear, "That was clever. You saved my tail back there."

"Yeah," I whisper back, "It's not like you did the same thing for me."

"I didn't really do anything," Keiko responds.

"Maybe it wasn't anything to you," I reply, "But it was everything to me."

 **~Keiko~**

I've always loved swimming- I thought of it as my safe place, away from my mom, away from my dad, away from Salmon and his gang, and away from the stress off my life.

But now, with Starfish on one side of me, Storm on the other, and Minnow behind me, I'm feeling more stressed then ever. _Great._ I thought bitterly. _Now my family ruined swimming for me._

I shook off the thought, and suddenly stopped, waiting for Minnow to catch up so I could swim next to her.

She looks a little surprised to see me stop so fast, but then she gives me a smile. Then, she looks around.

" _Is this near you island?"_ I flash to her in aquatic.

She looks at me, confused, then, after a minute flashes back at me. " _Squid brains swim like a tail fish why I stop."_

I look at her for a second, then start laughing. Why did she say that? Is she trying to make me laugh? But, unfortunately for me, it's pretty hard to laugh underwater. That's why I ended up choking and hacking.

Minnow starts freaking out, probably thinking she did something to make me choke, and helps me up to the surface.

My head goes above the water, and I gasp for air.

"Are you ok? What happened?" Minnow cries, appearing next to me.

"I'm fine!" I say, now feeling silly for laughing and choking. "Just-what you said-I can't…"

"I didn't say anything underwater! I _can't!_ "

"Yeah, but you did in aquatic." I say, looking at her. "Didn't your mother teach you it?"

Minnow shakes her head, and stops looking perplexed and now just looks really sad.

 _Oh, what have I done now? I've made my only friend feel bad. I'm so STUPID!_ "Aquatic is the language SeaWings speak underwater, with our glow stripes," I explain, trying to turn things around. "I asked we if we- you know what, nevermind. So you know if we're close to your home?"

"Oh." Minnow looks around. I can tell she's trying to not seem like she's sad. "Yeah- I think that's it, over there."

I squint at the island, still feeling guilty. "It looks like it. Let's go."

I dive back underwater, and I saw Storm and Starfish looking at us.

I swim past them quickly, then stop, look back, and flash " _The island is just over there."_ I point in the direction Minnow's island was.

Starfish glares at me skeptically, but Storm nods and speeds up ahead. Yet another thing he's perfect at; he can swim super fast, and perfectly. Seriously, he looks so graceful. It's like watching a swan swimming. If swans could swim underwater.

Starfish follows after him immediately, and me and Minnow follow more slower.

As I stare at the passing kelp and coral, I realize I've never seen Minnow's cave. She's told me about it, but I've never seen it.

 _Huh,_ I think. _I wonder why Minnow's never showed it to me._

I can't help feeling hurt. Did she not trust me as much as I thought? As much as I trusted her?

 _Don't be selfish._ I tell myself. _There's probably a reason she didn't show me._

 _Yeah,_ The tiny part of my mind whispers. _She actually doesn't like you, and she's only being friends with you because she pities you._

 _No,_ I think. _Minnow likes me for me. She wouldn't do that._

 _Would she?_

I shake my head fiercely, trying to stop the thoughts. _I'm putting myself down. Minnow really nice; she would never just be friends with someone because she pities them._

 _She's not Iris._

* * *

After awhile of swimming and thinking, we arrive at Minnow's island. It only takes about seven minutes of walking to reach the cave, but on the way, we passed a campfire, the embers almost cold, but it made Starfish frown and Storm smiled and looked warmly at me. So I guess that counts as a win.

As Minnow leads us deeper into the forest, she's becoming more nervous. Like she left something out of the lie she told.

I don't really think anything's wrong with lying. Well, a white lie, anyway.

What really happened was way less cool and heroic on my part; Salmon and his posse were giving me a hard time at school lately, pushing me around and tripping me during class. Then they would whisper to me "Hey, why don't you get your little savage to come and stop us?". Mostly I would just glare back at them, but one time, I pushed back and muttered "Minnow is NOT a savage!". I was proud of that.

I can stand it when they insult me, but I hate it when they make fun of Minnow. She can't even defend herself because she doesn't go to school! I think they know that, and that's why they bother me about it so much.

Anyway, they had been giving me a hard time, and so, one morning, I was sitting with Minnow and talking about my problems. She suggested that I skip school and hang out with her for the day. It sounded fun and stress-free, so I stayed. After a while of talking, laughing, and chasing each other around, I decided I better go back home. I thought my mother and Storm would be out doing something fun, like they always do, and my dad would be out at the bar or whatever, so when Minnow asked to come over, I said yes.

And the rest is history.

"This is it, right there." Minnow's voice snapped be back to reality.

"Hm." I hear Starfish say. "It's pretty run-down. I can't believe you live there."

Minnow looks down, and I glare at her. She glares right back.

I step into the cave, Minnow next to me. It's actually really nice looking. A picture of the sunrise hangs above one hammock, there's a small scruffy-looking rug on the middle of the floor, a table with two chairs, a bookcase, and on there's a-

Oh my Phyrria.

On the second hammock, there's a whip.

I turn to Minnow, and I can see she's staring at me, to see my reaction, I guess.

I turn to Storm and Starfish. Storm is looking at the painting, and Starfish next to him. They haven't seen it yet.

I turn back to Minnow. I mouth "What do we do?"

I didn't even have to mouth it to know what I need to do. I can see it in her eyes. "I don't want them to see it, but…"

I nod, then quickly step up to the hammock and flip it over, so the whip falls on floor. Starfish and Storm didn't even notice the noise. Minnow looks relieved, but also a little troubled. I'll ask her about it later, if she brings it up.

But I pretty sure I did a good thing. I helped my friend.


End file.
